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Young voters in Ontario should make sure their voice is heard this week

On top of the toxic partisanship and inability to see beyond the next election cycle that contributes to public disdain for politicians, young people often don’t see themselves reflected among those who get elected, or see the issues most relevant to them put front and centre.

Ontario's Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa demonstrates the new electronic voting machine in use for this election. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

But this week’s Ontario election is very much about the future of the province — their future.

The main issues go well beyond health care and taxes, the perennial ones that drive older, more established voters. This time, affordable housing and daycare, cheaper university tuition, free dental care and prescription drug coverage and a higher minimum wage – all issues that directly affect a younger voting demographic — are in play.

The two leading parties – Andrea Horwath’s New Democrats and Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives – have put forward very different policies to guide Ontario.

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The NDP’s platform, which includes promises to act on all the key issues affecting young voters, looks to the future and seeks to create a province where prosperity is more equitably shared. Ford’s campaign has spent more time looking in the rear-view mirror, conjuring up images of an Ontario long past.

This should be just the sort of stark choice that drives young voters to polling stations on Thursday. But will it?

If history is any indicator, far too many will let this opportunity pass them by.

Overall, voter turnout in Ontario is among the lowest in Canada. It’s been declining since the 1990s and hovered around the 50 per cent mark in the last two provincial elections.

Among voters in the 18-24 age bracket it’s believed to be closer to 30 per cent, Ontario’s chief electoral officer has said.

Ontario’s youth, of course, are not alone in voting in fewer numbers than their parents and grandparents.

In the 2015 federal election voter turnout was 68 per cent overall. And though the youngest voters (18-24) cast ballots in far greater numbers than during the 2011 election, they still lagged at 57 per cent, while the 65-74 age group posted a 79-per-cent turnout.

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Young people don’t vote, it’s often said, because they don’t think their vote will make a difference. But there are plenty of examples that show it can make a big difference.

It was young voters, engaged by Justin Trudeau’s social media-savvy campaign and promise to legalize cannabis,who sealed his Liberal majority in 2015. South of the border, a “youthquake” helped deliver Barack Obama to the White House in 2008.

At the same time, the cost of youth not voting can be steep. There’s no better example than Brexit, the narrow decision for the U.K. to leave the European Union.

Young people overwhelmingly wanted to stay, and while they did vote in greater numbers than usual they didn’t turn out in equal numbers to older voters who opted to leave.

Ontario's three main party leaders squared off May 7 in the first debate before June’s provincial election. Andrea Horwath, Kathleen Wynne and Doug Ford were asked after the debate how they plan to combat criticisms they face. (The Canadian Press)

When asked, 43 per cent indicated they were “extremely likely” to vote with a further 34 per cent saying “very likely.”

Most people know they should vote so they routinely overestimate their likelihood of doing so. Still, we hope this is a sign that young voters are paying attention and will turn up at the polls in greater numbers than ever before.

Governments elected with the support of a wide population base, one that includes young people, are likely to be more responsive to them all once in power. In short: voting matters.

For the past four weeks, the party leaders and candidates have had their say. On June 7, it’s your turn. Please take it.

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